Stephenie McMillan

Stephenie Lesley McMillan née Gardner 20 July 1942 19 August 2013 was an internationally recognised British set decorator Born in Ilford Essex but raised in Chigwell she graduated from the Woodford County High School for Girls She worked as a secretary in offices of Stillman EastwickField a Londonbased architecture firm She was best known for working on all the Harry Potter films She received three Academy Award nominations for the first fourth and seventh films as well as a BAFTA and Critics Choice Award nomination for the eighth in the series which went on to win the American Art Directors Guilds Contribution to Cinematic Imagery in 2012 Between 1984 and 2012 she worked as set decorator on 28 films 16 of these were in collaboration with noted production designer Stuart Craig including A Fish Called Wanda 1988 Shadowlands 1993 The English Patient 1996 for which she won an Oscar Chocolat 2000 and all of the eight Harry Potter films Her last film was the Coen brothersscripted Gambit 2012 McMillan excelled at handling the decoration of large sets In a February 2011 interview she said I have been so lucky to have had the opportunity to dress these brilliant and huge sets for the Harry Potter series with enough time and money to do it properly so I feel I dont really have any excuse for not getting it right To have a set that is right for the director and makes the actors feel comfortable thats really what I strive for After completing the Harry Potter film series McMillan and Craig collaborated on the designs for the Harry Potter theme park in Orlando Florida and The Magical World of Harry Potter which Warner built at its studios at Leavesden Hertfordshire which opened in April 2012 Thomas Welsh a former President of the Art Directors Guild told the Los Angeles Times An eye for even the smallest detailsand an understanding of how they swayed the story line set her body of work apart McMillan likened winning her Oscar to being elevated to the peerage She died at her home in Norfolk from complications of ovarian cancer on 19 August 2013 aged 71